Him or Me?
by M.C. Castle
Summary: A Strange Pairing Fic. A series of oneshots, starting after the Titans' first fight with the Brotherhood of Evil and ending with the freezing of the villians. RougexMallah. R&R, and submit any Strange Pairing Fics you may have to my forum.


This is a fairly strange pairing…that's all I'm gonna say. Well, that, and R&R. Please, for the love of God, R&R! I wanna see how well I portrayed this extremely unorthodox couple. (Sorry if Mallah's and Rouge's accents confuse you, but I'm really trying to capture their character here!)

Note: This is unrelated to my Elseworld saga, **The Xenothium Compact**. It is an entry for my Strange Pairing Contest.

I don't own any characters in this story.

Monsieur Mallah walked down the hall of the Brotherhood of Evil's base. The Brain had just given the Brotherhood, as well as the Brotherhood's 100-odd new allies, a pep talk on destroying the Teen Titans and the Doom Patrol. Their mission was simple now. First, they needed to procure an honorary Titan's communicator. Then, they needed to track the Titans' conversations in order to predict their every move. After that, it would only be a matter of time before a swift victory for the Brotherhood.

Why, then, was Mallah feeling this nagging doubt?

Of course…the wild card. Madame Rouge. Sure, her loyalty was to the Brain, but she didn't take orders from anyone. She did her own thing, and that could cost them dearly.

_I must talk to her,_ Mallah decided. _I must remind her of ze importance of zis mission. She must follow her orders as zey are given, or we will fail. _She had probably run off to the training grounds after the meeting, so he'd look there first. He turned left down the hall in the direction of the training grounds.

Mallah scanned the field for Rouge, but only saw General Immortus's troops training there. "Hit them harder!" Mallah heard the old man shouting. "You think you can break someone's neck trying to swat a fly? Harder, I say!"

Mallah walked up to the General. "Immortus," he said, "do you have any idea where I could find Madame Rouge?"

Immortus simply shook his head, not taking his eyes off his training troops. "She's probably in the garden," he added. "I've seen her there often."

Mallah thought this information quite odd, but took it in anyway. _Rouge visits ze Brain's garden? I never would have thought zat…_

Mallah made his way to the other side of the Brotherhood of Evil's base. He found a glass door marked with the Brain's insignia. He smelled the scent of fresh flowers as he made his way into the Brain's meditative garden. There were flowers and other plants everywhere, whose aromas gave the room a dreamy feel to it. There was a pond in the middle, as well. The Brain often came here to think without distraction, which meant that Mallah, who was ordered to follow him practically everywhere, had been here hundreds, maybe thousands of times before. Sure enough, he found Madame Rouge kneeling next to the pond holding a flower.

Rouge looked up at Mallah, who began to walk over to her. "Oh, it is only you," she said in her heavily accented voice.

Mallah stood next to her. "Since when have you come to ze Brain's garden?"

Rouge looked into the pond. "Vell, I come here from time to time to clear my many thoughts. A beautiful place such as this is perfect for it. Surely you have done the same?"

Mallah shook his head. "Ze only times I usually come here are when ze Brain wishes to meditate. I've never taken in ze beauty, as ze Brain's safety is my number-one concern." He looked around. "Now zat you mention it, Rouge, zis place certainly is quite relaxing. I can see why ze Brain loves it so much."

"As can I," said Rouge. She sighed. "The Brain's next operation…it is the biggest I have ever been involved with. I don't know vhy, but I feel…uncertain about the future."

Mallah stared emotionlessly into the pond as he said, "We must hope for the best, but prepare for the worst."

Rouge looked over to the gorilla, a bit surprised. "Vhere did you hear that? It is…profound."

"Several writers have used it," Mallah replied, continuing to stare at the pond. "I have adopted it as my motto. Whenever I feel ze slightest trickle of doubt in anything I do, I just tell myself zat quote. I tell myself to be optimistic about it, but remind myself zat anything could go wrong. It has been very useful to me throughout my life."

Rouge nodded, turning her gaze back to the pond. "I shall keep that in mind."

Mallah looked over to the woman in red. "Rouge, I need to talk to you about something."

Rouge looked up to him. "Vhat vould that be, Mallah?"

"You are right," he began. "Ze Brain's current plan is quite large-scale. Everything must go perfectly, or ze whole thing may fall apart. I am asking…no, _imploring_ you to follow every order ze Brain gives you unerringly. I know zat, at times, what he says may not make sense, and you may think you have better judgment zan he. Dispel zese thoughts, for zey will only lead to our failure. Do you understand?"

Rouge was silent for a moment. Then she said, "He miscalculated our last effort."

Mallah shook his head. "We have gone over zis, Rouge. Ze Brain's previous failure was merely a fluke caused by ze spontaneous appearance of ze Teen Titans. Zis time, ze Brain has all his bases covered."

Rouge stood up. "But how do ve know that? How do ve know that they don't have another ace-in-the-hole?"

Mallah raised his voice. "Zere is no way to know zat! You must trust zat ze Brain will be able to pull through for us!"

Rouge shook her head. "How can you have such faith in him?"

Mallah calmed down a bit. "Ze Brain practically created me. He is like a member of my family, if I had ever had one. I would trust him with my life."

Rouge averted her eyes, saying, "I see…" Then she added, "Vell, he does not mean quite as much to me."

Mallah nodded. "I understand zat. But you must trust him. You must trust _me_. Zis will turn out all right."

Madame Rouge stared at Mallah for a little while. "That…makes me feel a bit better," she finally said. "Thank you."

Mallah nodded. "My pleasure."

As Rouge exited the garden, Mallah replayed what he had just witnessed. Rouge had always acted cold and sadistic to the other members of the Brotherhood, and to everyone else in general. Mallah never knew this other side of her existed. He had respected Rouge as an associate before, but with this new side of her in view, maybe he could now call her…a _friend_.

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So ends Chapter One of my Strange Pairing Fic. Review, and tell me what you think! Also, don't forget to post any ideas for a Strange Pairing Fic of your own in my Strange Pairing Contest forum.


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